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he American Studies Program, an indisciplinary major at the University of Virginia, offers undergraduates a wide range of courses engaging the many rich facets of the United States and its place in the global world. Flexible, engaging, and interdisciplinary, American Studies courses integrate a rich array of materials, themes, and approaches from many disciplines: not only historical and literary studies, but also visual studies, musicology, film and media, and ethnic and gender studies, among others. The curriculum emphasizes the diversity of American society while at the same time stressing the importance of studying the often conflicting stories of nationhood and the range of experiences of what it has meant --and continues to mean--to be American. American Studies courses explore these issues in both historical and contemporary settings.